Iran would face consequences for not halting nuke production

WASHINGTON: Warning Iran that it would face the "consequences" for not halting production of nuclear fuel, US President George W Bush on Thursday said it is time for Tehran to make a choice even as he rejected calls for withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as "absolutely disastrous."

He also predicted victory for the war on terror and likened the struggle against Islamic fundamentalism with the fight against Nazis and communists.

In the first of a series of speeches defending his handling of the war on terror and the unpopular conflict in Iraq, Bush said "its time for Iran to make a choice."

"We've made our choice. We will continue to work closely with all our allies to find a diplomatic solution, but there will be consequences for Iran's defiance, and we must not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon," he told the American Legion veterans group.

US diplomats were preparing a proposal for sanctions against Iran when the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA confirmed that Tehran had not suspended its uranium enrichment programme as demanded by the UN Security Council resolution.

Bush also rejected calls for a US withdrawal in Iraq as an "absolutely disastrous" betrayal of the Iraqi people that would also endanger the US public.

He said Iraq would turn into a "new sanctuary" for terrorists eager to exploit its oil riches and warned: "If we give up the fight in the streets of Baghdad, we will face the terrorists in the streets of our own cities."

"The security of the civilized world depends on victory in the war on terror, and that depends on victory in Iraq. So the United States of America will not leave until victory is achieved," Bush said.

"The enemies of liberty come from different parts of the world, and they take inspiration from different sources. Some are radicalized followers of the Sunni tradition who swear allegiance to terrorist organizations like Al Qaida.

"Others are radicalized followers of the Shia tradition who join groups like Hezbollah and take guidance from state sponsors like Syria and Iran. Still others are home-grown terrorists, fanatics who live quietly in free societies they dream to destroy," Bush said in Utah.

"This war will be difficult, this war will be long, and this war will end in the defeat of the terrorists and totalitarians and a victory for the cause of freedom and liberty," the President told a very receptive audience stressing that the United States is using every instrument of national power to confront the al Qaeda.

"We have ended the days of treating terrorism simply as a law enforcement matter. We will stay on the offense. We will fight the terrorists overseas so we do not have to face them here at home," Bush said.

"... we have made it clear to all nations, if you harbor terrorists, you are just as guilty as the terrorists, you're an enemy of the United States, and you will be held to account," he said.

He described the current violence in the Middle East and the recently thwarted attack to blow up planes over the Atlantic Ocean as part of the same movement that resulted in the Sept. 11 attacks.

``As veterans you have seen this kind of enemy before,'' Bush said. ``They are successors to fascists, to Nazis, to communists and other totalitarians of the 20th century. And history shows what the outcome will be."

Bush said that those responsible for bringing down the World Trade Center are united with car bombers in Baghdad, Hezbollah militants who shoot rockets into Israel and terrorists who wanted to bring down the flights between Britain and the United States.

``Despite their differences, these groups form the outline of a single movement, a worldwide network of radicals that use terror to kill those who stand in the way of their totalitarian ideology,'' he said.

On a more general level, Bush was highly critical of the role of Iran in world affairs accusing Teheran of not only assisting terror outfits in Lebanon and Iraq but also denying basic human rights to its own people.

"This summer's crisis in Lebanon has made it clearer than ever that the world now faces a great threat from the radical regime in Iran. The Iranian regime arms, funds and advises Hezbollah, which has killed more Americans than any terrorist network except Al Qaeda," Bush claimed.

"The Iranian regime interferes in Iraq by sponsoring terrorists and insurgents, empowering unlawful militias and supplying components for improvised explosive devices."

"We know the death and suffering that Iran's sponsorship of terrorists has brought, and we can imagine how much worse it would be if Iran were allowed to acquire nuclear nations," he added.